This invention relates to a multi-link hinge assembly for mounting a closure panel to a vehicle compartment and, more particularly, to a spring assisted four link bar hinge assembly for mounting a rear deck lid or a front hood to an automotive vehicle body.
Multi-link hinge assemblies for mounting rear deck lids and front hoods in automotive vehicles are known as, for example, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,557,829 to Schoen et al, issued Sep. 24, 1996, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein. The weight of known deck lids and front hoods resist the opening of the hinge assembly with the lid or hood mounted thereon. Known hinge assemblies provide biasing mechanisms to assist in opening or closing the lid or hood so that the manual effort required by a user are minimal.
Strut cylinders have been used with multi-link hinges to assist in opening a lid or hood and to prevent slamming of the lid or hood on closing. A disadvantage of such strut cylinders is that they are expensive with the cost of the strut cylinders generally increasing with an increase in the forces they are to apply, and with typically stronger, more expensive strut cylinders providing better operation. Another disadvantage is that the strut cylinders frequently do not provide for initial movement of the lid or hood when the lid or hood is unlocked. The present inventor has appreciated that on being unlocked, it is desired that the lid or hood xe2x80x9cpop-upxe2x80x9d, that is, open immediately to a partially open position so that a user can readily appreciate that the lid or hood is unlocked.
Accordingly, to at least partially overcome these disadvantages, the present invention provides a multi-link hinge assembly with a spring mounted between links of the hinge assembly to provide a spring assisted opening particularly with the spring being a torsional coil spring whose coil is mounted near a pivot point between links of the hinge assembly and which coil spring supplements the opening forces provided by a primary biasing mechanism, with the coil spring particularly assisting in initial movement of the hood from an unlocked position.
The present invention provides a multi-link hinge assembly for a rear deck lid or front hood for an automobile having a torsional coil spring mounted with its coil coaxial to or proximate to a pivotal connection of the hinge assembly with arms of the coil spring engaging members of the hinge assembly to bias them for pivoting about the pivotal connection. The torsional coil spring provides enhanced xe2x80x9cpop-upxe2x80x9d of the lid or hood or initial unlocking and can reduce the need for or size of a primary biasing mechanism to assist in opening the lid or hood.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a spring loaded hinge assembly for mounting a closure panel such as deck lid or bonnet hood to a vehicle body.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a torsional coil spring loaded hinge assembly for swingably mounting a rear deck lid or a front hood to an automotive vehicle compartment which is economical and at the same time capable of providing a pop-up swing up action to the lid or hood when it is unlocked.
Another object is to provide a multi-link hinge assembly for a rear deck lid of an automobile having a primary biasing mechanism to assist opening of the lid and, as a secondary biasing mechanism, a spring disposed between the link members near a pivotal connection of the link member.
With these and other objects in view, according to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a hinge assembly for swingably mounting a rear deck lid or a front hood to an automotive vehicle compartment comprising a lower bracket secured to an associated side structure of the vehicle in a generally horizontal position, an upper bracket secured to an underside of the lid or hood, a multi-link arrangement comprising a plurality of elongate link members interconnecting the lower bracket and the upper bracket for moving the upper bracket relative the lower bracket between open and closed positions, a primary spring means biasing the upper bracket to move towards the open position and substantially supporting the weight of the lid or hood in the open position, a secondary spring means biasing the upper bracket to move from the closed position towards the open position and whose spring force is maximum on initial movement of the upper bracket relative the lower bracket from the closed position towards the open position.
According to a further embodiment of the invention, there is provided a hinge assembly for mounting a closure panel to a vehicle compartment, comprising a lower bracket member adapted to be secured to a lateral side structure of the compartment, an upper bracket member adapted to be secured to an underside of the closure, a pair of link members pivotally connecting the lower and upper bracket members such that, when the closure panel swings from a generally horizontal closed position to an open position to access the compartment, both link members swing in a generally vertical plane about their pivots in a direction towards a first end of the lower bracket member, and when the closure panel swings back from the open position to the closed position, both link members swing in an opposite direction towards a second end of the lower bracket member, and biasing means loaded between the lower bracket member and at least one of the link members and urging the link members to swing about their pivots towards the first end of the lower bracket member which in turn urging the closure panel to swing open.
In another embodiment, the invention provides a hinge assembly for swingably mounting a rear deck lid or a front hood to an automotive vehicle compartment, comprising a lower bracket member having a front end and a rear end and secured to an associated side structure of the vehicle in a generally horizontal position, an upper bracket member having a front end and a rear end and secured to an underside of the lid or hood, a first link member having a first end and a second end, the first end of the first link member pivotally connected to the front end of the lower bracket member, and the second end of the first link member pivotally connected with the upper bracket member at a location between the front and rear ends of the upper bracket member, a second link member having a first end and a second end, the first end of the second link member pivotally connected to the rear end of the lower bracket member, and the second end of the second link member pivotally connected to the rear end of the upper bracket member, the first link member being longer than the second link member, arrangement of the link members and the upper and lower bracket members being such that when the upper bracket member swings from a generally horizontal closed position substantially parallel to the lower bracket member to an open position in which the front end of the upper bracket member is spaced farther from the lower bracket member than the rear end of the upper bracket member to access the compartment the second end of the second link member swings relative the lower bracket member in a generally vertical plane in a first direction and the second end of the first link member swings relative the lower bracket member in the same first direction, and when the upper bracket member swings back to the closed position, both the second ends of the first and second link members swing in an opposite second direction, a strut cylinder member having a first end and a second end, the first end of the cylinder member pivotally connected to the front end of the lower bracket member, and the second end of the cylinder member pivotally connected to the upper bracket member at a location between the front end of the upper bracket member and a point of pivotal connection of the second end of the first link member with the upper bracket member, the cylinder member assisting in swinging the first and second link members towards the open position, and a torsional coil spring with a central coil from which a first arm and a second arm extend tangentially, the coil being mounted to the lower bracket member proximate to a pivotal connection between the first end of the first link member and the front end of the lower bracket member with an axis of the coil parallel to the pivotal connection and with the first arm of the spring engaging with the lower bracket member and the second arm of the spring engaging with the first link member thereby urging the first link member to swing relative the lower bracket member in the first direction.